Nut or rivet holder for sheet metal.



J. CRAWFORD.

NUT 0R RIVET HOLDER FOR SHEET METAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-27.1918.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1918.

Application filed March 27, 1918. Serial No. 224,974.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I. JAMES CRAWFORD, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of New York, Corona, borough of Queens, in thecounty of Queens and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedNut or Rivet Holder for Sheet Metal, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to sheet metal constructions and ha particularreference to means for connecting one sheet to another adapting the samefor disconnection if desired.

of the invention is to provide a means whereby a man working alone isenabled to rigidly secure two sheets together, the operation beingperformed from ,one side of the assemblage and without necessitating theoperator or an assistant acting upon the other side of the assemblage.

' In the building of large sheet metal ventilating shafts or the likefor example it is frequently demanded that one section be.

With the foregoing and other objects in I view the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose ofillustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame parts in the several'views, and in which Figure 1 is a fragmentarydetail perspective view which may be understood as representing a largesheet metal ventilatingshaft having room within it for the operator towork. I

More definitely stated the primary object Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionaldetail on the line 22 of Fig. 1, but indicating the bolt prior tointroduction into the nut.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of a sheet showing the nut holding meansin blank or prior to being swaged. or pressed out to receive the nut.

Fig. 5 is a similar view but showing the form or position of the nutholding means with the nut in place therein in dotted lines.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a modification in which the screw is held byone of the sheets in place of the nut, the section being in a planecorresponding substantially to that of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the blank adapted to hold the screw or otheranalogous fastening device such a shown in Fig.6, the figure beingotherwise similar in character to Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a. View showing the next step from the blank of Fig. '7, butotherwise of thei same character as the view of Fig. 5; an

Fig. 9 is a detail view showing a rivet as the fastening member held orcarried by the slitted sheet.

'Assuming that 10 and 11 are adjacent sections of a sheet metal flue orshaft to be rigidly -connected at their overlapping ends and havingsufiicient capacity for the workman to be located therein, my inventionis practised in the following manner, orits equivalent: When designingor building the several sections in the sho or elsewhere one of thesections, being indlcated as the outer section 10, is punched or stampedin such a manner as to constitute a holding means for a nut 12 on theside remote from the other section or sheet as indicated in the firstfive figures. The sheet is slitted at 13 with short parallel slitsspaced from each other at a distance substantially equal to the width ofthe nut. The metal on the opposite sides of these-short slits issubsequently bent or swaged out as indicated at 14 forming lugs whichserve to positively hold the nut from slipping in the direction ofeither of these lu'gs.'- A 'pair of longer slits 15 likewise parallel toeach other also are formed between the slits 13 leaving between theseveral slits 15 and slits 13 a pair of straps 16. The length of'theslits 15 is approximately equal to or a trifle greater than the Width ofthe nut. The metal between the slits 15 is again slitted at 17preferably with a cut oblique to the center line joining the slits 13thereby forming two tongues 18, each having a diagonal end. The theformation of this holder is to bend.or swage out the tongues aroundbending lines 19 thus providing a pocket for the nut where it will beheld between the tongues in one direction and between the lugs 14 in theother direction. The free ends 20 of the tongues are then bent down uponthe nut positively locking the .nut in place. The form of the tonguesobviously may be varied according to the thickness. of the nut or otherconditions, but by beveling the, same as indicated I provide a maximum"grip upon the outer surface of the nut and yet leave the hole 12 in thenut unobstructed for the introduction of the screw or bolt 21. Thestraps 16 remain fiat or in their natural form and serve to positivelysupport the inner face ofthe nut and yet provide a clear space throughwhich the screw or bolt may pass. It will be understood that this workof forming the nut holder and fastening the nut therein will beperformed in the shop under ordinary practice.

The coiiperating sheet or section 11 will be punched with an ordinaryhole 22 to register with the nut hole 12' when the sheets are assembledso all the operator has to do in completing the connection'or fasteningof the sheets or sections is to locate the registering holes andintroduce the nut or screw 21 which obviously may be inserted with ascrew driver or other analogous tool and from the side of the joint orassemblage op-' posite the nut, the nut being positively held an placeand from rotation by the lugs 14 and tongues 18.

It will be understood that the particular character of the fasteningdevice may be varied to a considerable extent and similarly lock thespecific character of is subject to considerable modification withoutdeparting from the broad spirit of my invention. In Figs. 6, 7 and 8,for example, I show a sheet 10' slitted at 15' which in connection withthe oblique slit 17 will form two ton es 18'. When the tongues are bentoutwar around bending lines 19 there is provided an open slot 23 throughwhich the shank of a fastening screw, rivet or the like may ass, whilethe head thereof will be permanently in place by the bending down of thefree ends of the The opposite sheet 11 will simply be provided with aholeto registerwith and receive the point of the screw or rivet afterwhich the operator stationed only on one next step in a the holdingmeans tongues 18'.

may be readily effected by the operator from.

the other side. Also in many instances it is required to fasten togetherend to end' a series of sections of sheet metal pipes or the like ofsuch length or small diameter as to make it impossible to reach thereinfor the purpose of effecting the fastening. Therefore, under. suchconditions the inner section will be provided with that part of thefastener that maybe regarded the fixture such as the nut 12 in Fig. 3orthe screw 21 in F ig., 6, and the remaining part of the fastener willbe put thereon from the outside.

The fastening member is shown in Fig. 9 in the form of a rivet 21 by thetongues 18, the shank of the fastener vpassing through the slot 23 sothat the end of the rivet may pass through the hole provided for thispurpose in the companion sheet 11. This adaptation of the invention isespecially useful for connecting the lengths of small pipes.

I claim:

1. The herein described sheet metal joint,

one sheet being provided with two parallel slits and a 'slit extendingfrom one slit to the other of the parallel slits, thus forming two freeended tongues which when bent outward from the plane of the sheet-forman open slot for the passage of the shank of a fastener, a two artfastener, one part of which is adapted to be gripped within and betweensaid tongues while the other. part of the fastener may be attachedthereto solely from the other side of the other sheet remote from thetongues.

2. The combination with a pair of sheets to be connected, one sheethaving a pair of slits parallel to each other, the metal on the oppositesides of the slits being bent outward forming lugs and being providedalso with a pair of free ended tongues formed between said slits, theton ues being spaced from each other substantially equal to the distancebetween said lugs and forming an open slot. a two part fastener, onepart of which is located between said lugs and between ,the tongues andlocked rigidly from movemfent inanydirection with'respect to thesheet-by the tongues, and the other sheet being provided with a' holeregistering with said slot whereby the other member of the fastener maybe passed through the hole and slot and into the locked part of thefastener.

whose head is held with a pair of slits tending from one of and atransverseslit exthe aforesaid slits to the other in 'a dirwtion obliqueto either of the the shank of a fastening member and the first mentionedslits, the slitted metal when tongue ends being sufliciently spaced frombent outward thus forming two free ended each other for the samepurpose, and a fas- 10 tongues, the end of each tongue being diagteningdevice cooperating with said slitted 5 onal to the main part of thetongue, the sheet. slitting and the outward bending forming. an openslot in the sheet for the passage of JAMES CRAWFORD.

